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Saturday, June 22, 2013

i try smiling more

My sister told me a wonderful story the other day. It made me smile from ear to ear and i'm sure it will make you smile too...

Here's my sister's recollection:

"I first noticed them because we were walking out of the car park and this guy just, I don't know, he just looked at us and smiled as we walked passed. It was a bit weird. We were in the Perth Cultural Centre and we were going to the Perth Festival Gardens. Then we passed a woman and she looked at us. When I say 'looked at us' she really made eye contact. Just like the guy before. It wasn't like when you walk pass someone and happen to catch their gaze for a moment. And she had a big smile on her face like the guy before as well. I thought, 'that was weird'.

Then I realised she was wearing the same stuff as the other guy as well. Black t-shirt, had some writing on it, I can't remember what it said, and black pants. After we had been to the Festival Gardens we headed to Bivouac and there was a lady standing on the corner of James St and William St. We walked passed her and she did the same thing again. She looked intently at us and smiled. I just did a big smile back and she squatted down and made a mark on the pavement at her feet in chalk. I looked at it and said, 'oh, she's collecting smiles!' On the pavement it said 'smiles' and had a tally and then it said 'one wink'."

I couldn't help but smile thinking about someone collecting smiles. It made me realise how much impact a smile can have and how people don't smile enough. So, I've decided to try to smile more. Proper smiles. At my friends, at my family and at complete strangers. I've been doing it for a week now and
Some people don't smile make. Some do. I don't care either way. I've found that even when I feel rubbish and not at all in a smiling mood, when I do smile I still feel better. Even if I'm only smiling to myself. Try it.